Tag Archives: iPhone 5 sales

If you buy an Apple iPhone 5 you’ll be something very good for the U.S. economy. The chief economist at J.P. Morgan, Michael Feroli, estimates that sales of the new iPhone could possibly add from 1/4 to 1/2 percent to the annualized growth rate of U.S. gross domestic product in the last quarter of the year. Since the nation’s total GDP is only expected to grow 2% in the last quarter, the iPhone 5 alone could make up 25% of the entire country’s economic growth!

A Feroli put it in financial geek-speak, “Calculated using the so-called retail control method, sales of iPhone 5 could boost annualized GDP growth by $3.2 billion, or $12.8 billion at an annual rate.”

Analysts at J.P. Morgan predict that Apple will sell 8 million iPhone 5s this year, each with an expected retail price of around $600. Add in a couple of adjustments to account for the fact that most of us up our carrier contracts rather than pay full retail, and the price of each phone still puts $400 into the economy.

Feroli added that his estimate for annualized growth should be taken with a grain of salt, as it “seems fairly large,” but he points out that the iPhone 4S launch a year ago significantly increased retail sales that month. Both online sales and computer sales had their largest monthly increase on record.

Remember this when you’re handing over a few hundred bucks for your new iPhone. You’re making a contribution to putting the U.S. back on the road to prosperity.

Apple’s press event, where they are expected to tell all on the new iPhone, is scheduled for Wednesday Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET).